A total of 7,123 records of plants in bloom across Britain
and Ireland.

492 different species were recorded, compared to 611 last
year and 366 in 2015.

More than 400 lists compiled by individuals, families and botanical
recording groups.

Plant hunters joined in from the Channel Isles to Orkney, from
Donegal to Norfolk, and West Cork to Kent.

Gorse flowering on 2/1/2017Bev Bishop

As expected, the milder south and west of Britain and
Ireland had the highest numbers of species in flower - 106 in West Cornwall –
but nowhere near last year’s top total of 162 recorded in Berkshire.

BSBI’s Head of Science Dr Kevin Walker has analysed this
year’s results and compared them with those from previous years.

He said “People
found significantly fewer species in bloom this year, an average of 15.5,
compared to at least 20 in previous years.

"This seems to be the result of lower
temperatures in the last few months of 2016 but interestingly, this difference
was much less marked for non-native species”.

The main findings were:

Winter Heliotrope, Sidmouth, 2/1/2017Image: Karen Woolley

58% of species were ‘Autumn Stragglers’ like Yarrow, Ragwort
and Hogweed that had carried on flowering.

Only 15% were ‘Springtime Specialists’ like Primrose and Lesser
Celandine, so there is no indication of an early spring. This proportion is
similar to previous years.

The top five species were Daisy, Groundsel, Dandelion,
Annual Meadow-grass, and Gorse – almost identical to previous years and all (native)
plants we would expect to be flowering at this time of year.

46% of species were non-natives. This includes plants from
warmer climates that have escaped from gardens or cultivation and become
naturalised in the wild. Some are able to extend their flowering into the winter
months while others - such as Winter Heliotrope, recorded in a quarter of this
year’s New Year Plant Hunt lists - can be expected to bloom at this time of
year.

As in previous years, urban areas tended to have more non-native
species in flower than rural areas, as there are more sheltered and disturbed places
with warm microclimates where alien plants can thrive.

Kevin said “Further work is required before we can be
certain about the causes of these unseasonal events but the New Year Plant Hunt
results are already helping us build up a clearer, up-to-date picture of what’s
going on”. Download Kevin's analysis in full here.